The steps are required. Style is personal.
Every good salesperson I’ve met sells a little differently. I’m a teacher in the room. I’ve never been high-pressure, and I’d rather walk someone through a demo than work a room of a hundred people. Your style will be your own, and you won’t find it until you do the work.
What doesn’t change is the steps. Skip qualifying and you waste weeks on deals that were never real. Skip the questions and you present the wrong thing. Avoid them at your own risk.
None of this is a secret. It’s the basics, done well, again and again. Here’s how I think about each one when I’m selling marketing services.
Seven stops on one line
Each step will get its own post. This page will link to all of them as they go up.
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Step 1
Prospecting
Pipeline is your future, not a report.
Even in a good month, you can’t celebrate much if the next two look empty. Most reps think they have far less control over their pipeline than they do. Warm up your calls, clean out the dead deals, and treat every new conversation as your own opportunity, not a number on someone’s report.
Full post coming soon
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Step 2
Qualifying
Want, Need, and Afford.
Qualifying isn’t about technical fit. It’s about the decision. Do they want you, do they need you, and can they afford you? Afford is the one reps lie to themselves about. And be careful with the prospect who calls already sold and wants to meet today. Their eagerness is often your desperation reflected back.
Full post coming soon
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Step 3
Rapport
Honesty compounds.
Rapport isn’t small talk. It’s being someone people can trust. Tell people the truth, even the uncomfortable parts. I’ve had lost prospects come back years later, and a few call just to ask my opinion. That only happens when you’ve been straight with them.
Full post coming soon
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Step 4
Questions
Ask more than you answer.
Know your competitors, and your own company, better than you know the prospect’s trivia. That’s what tells you which questions to ask. Most of what you need about the customer comes out in the meeting anyway, if you’re asking the right things.
Full post coming soon
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Step 5
Presentation
Paint the picture in their mind.
Some people can picture things in their own heads. Great salespeople paint the picture in the client’s. Know your two out of price, quality, and service, because you can’t deliver all three for long, and present the value you actually deliver.
Full post coming soon
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Step 6
Objections
Prepare for every one before you hear it.
Think through every objection and what you’d say. Some objections are real, and the honest answer is that you’re not a fit. When someone truly can’t afford you, I give them the rest of the meeting anyway and show them what they can do. That habit has paid off more ways than I can count.
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Step 7
Closing
Negotiate for the next round, not just this one.
In B2B, a deal is the start of a relationship, so learn what the other side actually needs and it gets easier every round. And when the answer is no, don’t chase it. Leave the door open, check in once later, and move on.
Full post coming soon